Time flows, like the most turbulent of rivers. As reward for the first well-accomplished assignment, you've been given a reward- Gratuitous access to what may be the best inn in the city, and told your next assignment would be two days hence. Which is nowSerenity‘ couldn’t care less, she's already got a perfectly function home. She does show up in the inn's lobby on the specified day and time, though, looking a bit more calm than she had the other day.Surprisingly, there is little ceremony in getting in the Grand Chapel this time. Whereas the first time there were priests to guide the way, as you now make your way through the corridors, accompanied by the cool breeze of the day outside, you're mostly left on your own. Watching those who bear the title of priests yet are more government workers go about their day is certainly intersting as you head towards the meeting room.
[OOC] Serenity: OR the chapel i guessAnton strolls into the meeting room with a refreshment in hand. He waves to Serenity smiling. "Good morrow, my dear companion!"Amal is there a bit early again, like before! They wait until there's at least someone else there before entering the meeting room, though.
Serenity: "You're not gunna talk like that the whole time, are you?"Harriet had visited the inn, sure, but she spent more time in her workshop. She heads towards the meeting-room, all geared up because she just knows they're gonna get sent on a wild goose chase again.
Harriet: "Hi to you too."Anton places a hand to his chest. "How dreadful is it that genius is misunderstood in every generation."In the room, it is a little too late for breakfast but not yet time for lunch yet, you find tea and sandwiches (also lollipops) ready at the meeting table. Food always makes meetings go by faster. Thrown over one of the sofas at the far end of the room (which together with what you only notice now to be a very large amount of bookshelves crammed to critical mass with books with similar titles forms a small study area) is the cloak Cor Caroli wore before. There is also a white robe that has been carefully folded beside it. Nobody waits you yet.
Amal: "Aw, I was kinda hoping he would."Hughbert greets everyone on the way in, "Lieutenant Marcel reporting in. Everyone good and ready for today's operation?"Serenity‘ shrugs towards Hughbert in acknowledgement.Amal nods sharply! They’d try to salute but they're pretty sure if they tried anything other than a Rissani salute it'd just wind up looking really weird…
Harriet: "Genius is definitely unappreciated. Am genius, can confirm. Hello!" Harriet waves to Hughbert.Anton points at Harriet before grinning.Off from the far end of the room there's the noise of a doorway opening. For a moment the noise of water running before it vanishes. The sound of the door closing.Anton sits down in a chair before starting to stuff his face.From a corner, so well hidden you could not realize that it was not a wall, comes two people. Dressed far more lightly than the ceremonial clothes (yet still wearing the wraps traditional to her position) comes first Pope Aldiva, shortly behind her is Cor Caroli, in similar outfit of the day earlier but ditching the jacket. You notice their hair is wet but not dripping.Amal waves respectfully!The pope simply smiles gently/tiredly at you as she takes a seat at the head of the table "Good morning, my dear children" while Cor Caroli takes a seat at the other end "Feeling rested?" she says, picking up her candy
Serenity: "I guess."Hughbert salutes reflexively. "Yes, ma'am! Thank you very much for use of the inn!" He only actually slept there one time - it was a bit lonely without the machinery and chatter of the base in the background - but he got to sleep in!Amal quirks the corner of their mouth up in the world's tiniest smile before taking a seat at the table. "It'd be hard not to be! I think we needed the rest, too. It's appreciated."A gentle breeze blows in through the window
Pope Aldiva: "It's good to see all of you in good health. I hope you do not mind my presence today"
Cor Caroli: "Doubt they'd be bothered, your holiness"
Serenity: "S'your chapel."
Harriet: "Yeah, it's not like it's surprising to see you here."
Hughbert: "It is an honor to have you here. Will you be briefing us directly today, rather than the Great Oracle?"Anton pulls at his collar. "Ah, geeze. Getting a bit stuffy in here, don'cha think?"
Cor Caroli: "For now, she will simply be watching" she mumbles something to herself "Either way, for this assignment I have nothing preventing me from being more forthcoming with information, so it should be easier on you. On that field"Hughbert takes a seat, looks at the open window, and shrugs at Anton before taking a sip of tea.
Cor Caroli: "For this one, I cannot tell you what exactly is the danger I am sending you to prevent, because I do not know what it is. Nor every step of the way either, but in this one… You are still fated to success"Amal also helps themself to some tea. It's delicious!
Cor Caroli: "This ties with the recent attacks, however"It's the most tasty and calming tea you can imagineHarriet takes a seat, sips at tea. She's prefer coffee, but this is fine too.
[OOC] Harriet: *she'd
Cor Caroli: "The assignment… Is to climb the highest peak of the Divine Aegis" she lets that sit for a moment "Of course, i'm not expecting you to do precisely that, but the process will put you in converging paths with the danger I foresaw."
Serenity: "…"
Amal: "Hmm. They haven't cleared out by now? That's surprising."
Harriet: "It's not exactly my specialty, but sure, I guess."Anton scratches his head. "I wish you'd told me that earlier, Cor. I would have just camped out there since I was so close to it."Hughbert looks at the group, one at a time, before turning back to the Oracle. "Are… we going to have any assistance? The only one who seems well-suited to the task is Anton with his force gear."
Cor Caroli: "For being helpful this time, however, I do know where you should start. It may not be very well known but there is a community of climbers in Masharas who have been attempting that feat for a few years, they congregate in the western olive plantation area"Anton stage whispers to the others. "Been attempting to climb it. We're in for a ride~."Serenity‘ buries her face in her hands, with her elbows resting on the table.
Cor Caroli: "Anton wouldn’t have much luck getting to the very top, honestly. They have tried that particular approach but we haven't developed force gear that wouldn't fizzle out"
Anton: "Truth be told, my force gear is kind of garbage. If we ever take in someone from another country I totally call dibs on a model upgrade."The Pope looks at Serenity and puts a hand over her mouth, holding back a very silent giggle "It only gets worse from here, Serenity"
Serenity: "You're really not making a good first impression." Mumbled from behind her hands.
Cor Caroli: "I'm sorry if I couldn't be much clearer. Sometimes the information I have is limited, and I am counting on you dealing with harsh odds"
Pope Aldiva: "Please have a little patience, she can be a handful but I trust her capacities"
Serenity: "More so the 'climb the tallest mountain in the world' part…"
Hughbert: "With all due respect, Great Oracle, I'm having a hard time seeing what tactic we can employ to succeed here. Are we banking everything on some hobbyists having worked out a sacred text of climbing by the time we arrive…?"
Cor Caroli: "That is the only lead avaiable for now"
Serenity: "Lets just go grab one of the weather balloons and cheat."Anton lets out a sigh. "Can't say I really blame you. When I was a kid I was the same way. It always tends to work out in the end, though."
Harriet: "Yeah, seriously."
Harriet: "Dirgibles will get us up there just fine."
Anton: "Doubting Cor, I mean."
Amal: "For what it's worth… I think it's probably more 'be in the vicinity of the tallest mountain', or 'be trying to climb the tallest mountain'."
Cor Caroli: "Well, not really, this is related to the spy you captured the other day but that information wound up damaged in the scuffle"Serenity‘ gives Amal a suitable Unimpressed look.
Amal: "If I understand how this stuff works right! So we just… have to give it a good solid try, and then whatever’s supposed to work out will work out in our favour!"
Hughbert: "Right. One question. Do you foresee any weather problems in the area, such as any risk of avalanches or landslides?"Amal grins at Serenity, with one eyebrow tweaked up -just- enough that she knows they're Just Tryin' To Put A Spin On It.
Cor Caroli: "The risk exists, but only if some factor I could not plan for interferes"
Anton: "No offense Cor, but I've seen a factor you haven't planned for interfere two for two now."
Cor Caroli: "I know"
Cor Caroli: "That's part of the reason i'm sending you instead of someone else"Hughbert is looking through a chapter of Tactical Front-Line Arts' unstable terrain chapter as he asks, conjuring up contingency plans… "Right. I wonder if I could collect some data on something, then… Hmm."
Anton: "Look at it this way, the view will be amazing when we reach the top~" He gets out of his seat and grabs a lollipop before giving the group a thumbs up with his spare hand.
Serenity: "I don't think I'm going to like you very much."
Harriet: "What a drag… I'm totally not designed for extreme weather conditions. Oh well, for Pope and Country I suppose." Harriet shrugs, putting down her tea and standing up.
Cor Caroli: "Hrm… Life is difficult, I guess"Amal finishes the tea, suppressing a grin at Anton.Anton slams his fists together before nodding seriously. "I'm counting on all of you to get me there safely. Now let us be off!~" He then marches out of the room.Hughbert closes his book and nods. "I believe I know someone suited to helping us on this mission who might turn things in our favor. I'll have her meet us in the operation area."
JayM: Thankfully, getting to the western end of the city-state shouldn't be a big problem, there is a cable car station there (which is not really a cable car but a kind of tram dragged by a cable with an engine at each end) meaning you can just take it from two streets over in that directionAmal ambles out of the office, and like before, doesn't seem excessively worried about any of this.
Harriet: "Right, so, like… your contacts or mine?" Harriet asks Serenity as they leave. "Because I'm totally not climbing all the way up a fucking mountain."
Serenity: "They seemed to strongly imply flying over it would make it meaningless."Using [Command], Hughbert orders Mika of his I and R Corps to report to the Fatebreaker mission zone. She will be bringing her prototype force gear, an [Ars Prima] model that manipulates ice and terrain and will use it to assist if the order is given.
Serenity: "And Goddess knows I don't wanna be halfway up the mountain and then need to start over."
Harriet: "Ohhh my Goddess I hate this."
Harriet: "Take staying inside and designing things any day."
Serenity: "Yeah."
Hughbert: "…She won't have a balloon, but she ought to be of service." Hughbert mentions this to the party after issuing the order.
Harriet: "As always you are a stalwart beacon of hope in this hopeless age."Hughbert may have to do a short detour to send off the letter, but she'll be meeting you there
Anton: "You could always go back you know." He glances at Harriet and Serenity. "I'm not sure it'd be a proper farewell, though. Fate has a tendency to bring us together once more."The cable car is at the very least a comfortable ride, alongside you board a few workers and traders, they seem cheerful for those taking a long trip home as the trip is expected to take an hour and a half
Amal: "Aw, but you two were so good in that fight! I'm glad you're with us. …even if it is kind of a pain…"
Harriet: "I mean I could, but my parents know I, like, have a destiny now? And they'd be really disappointed if I didn't live up to it."Serenity‘ lets out a sign, turning to look at Anton.
Hughbert: "…Hmm, I haven’t written home since starting this new post. Thank you for reminding me, Harriet."
[OOC] Serenity: sigh^Hughbert spends much of the ride idly scribbling in a journal about what he should or should not mention in his next letter home.
Serenity: "Odds on just turning around and going home even slightly worth it?"It's amazing how smooth the ride is, given the way the cable car goes through an area that has little to no infrastructure, one of the 'wild' parts of the territorry so to say. It's almost like a train ride (if you ever were in a train). A light grumble echoes throught the car as you approach the destination, it's nearing noon.Anton scrunches up his face. "Well… I mean, most paths have you back with us for one reason or another within a month, so…"
Serenity: "A lot of wasted effort, yeah. Not really my thing."
Anton: "My best advice is to buckle up and enjoy the ride~"Hughbert stops scribbling for a moment and looks to one of the strangers beside him. "Pardon- is this cab usually this busy? Just curious."
Anton: "I'm sure Cor has her reasons, which are deeper than the deepest ocean and higher than the highest peak. Which incidentally we're going to right now!"The farmer looks at Hughbert from the person he was talking to "Oh, not at this time of the day, no"
Farmer: "But today is the monthly meeting, everyone's kinda excited"
Serenity: "I mean, it's not that complicated."The man he was talking to, a rather large and imposing figure dressed in functional clothes shakes his head "I doubt he knows what meeting, though" his voice is surprisingly high pitched for his appearance
Serenity: "Sure as hell don't trust you to save my dumb ass friend."
Farmer: "Oh, right. The climber's association monthly meeting. We're almost done with the plans for the next expedition! Look for it in the news!"Hughbert nods. "I figured any meeting out this far into the Aegis had to have something to do with it. So, what sort of revelations are you looking forward to hearing this year?"
Anton: "I'll have you know I've saved a lot of things in my time!" He acts fakely offended. "Poor mister sourpuss was in dire straights up in that tree."Amal looks up with a smile. "Hey, I've heard about you guys!"The car stops at a simple station, the birds chirp in the distance. The view is nothing but idillic of the olive orchards around, the central street you're in is small but here you find a few shops and a few residences. In the distance you can see most homes are by orchards, of their caretakers. As you stop the people start going out, mostly in a big group. The farmer looks at Hughbert "Oooh, we've come up with what we believe may be the best path ever this time"
Harriet: "Please tell us about it in excruciating detail."
Serenity: "And yet when it ma-" Serenity catches herself, then shakes her head while falling silent and looking away form AntonThe farmer beams at Amal's comment, the man with the high-pitch voice sighs "Kestrel you're far too excitable"
Hughbert: "Would we be welcome to listening in on the meeting's proceedings? If there are any membership dues that must be paid, I am sure the price of ignoring my curiosity would be greater."
High-Voice: "Don't let his excess of excitement get you misinformed, sure we appear to have found perhaps the flattest surface to ever have been found in the Aegis but that's it"
High-Voice: "Well, for one, you'd need to go through the first trials to see if you're not going to commit suicide by accident"
Harriet: "Okay, but, like, let's assume we're all not dumbasses, and skip that step."
Anton: "Come now, I'm sure if one of them lost their footing they would be saved by yours truly. Don't be too eager now, Amal~" The gives him a smile.
[OOC] Anton: *he gives him a smile
High-Voice: "Heh, really now? Not assuming you're dumbasses is what gets you killed, ever heard of safety?"
High-Voice: "If you don't have a certificate we'd have to put you to the test"
High-Voice: "Then again if you just wanna show up in the meeting it's also fine"
High-Voice: "You just can't come in the climb otherwise. We especially appreciate the presence of cartographers and geologists"
Serenity: "Lets start at that point and then go from there, yeah."Hughbert pulls out a journal, "At the very least, I'd like to help your story find its way to the news."Amal smiles, then chuckles a little bit. "I might have a few tricks up my sleeve, Anton. You never know."
Harriet: "Okay, okay, okay, I hear you. Don't disregard lab safety, got it."
Amal: "But- yes, I appreciate the concern for safety."The man puts a hand on his chin "That'd make quite a few of us happy, why not"
High-Voice: "The meeting's, hrm…"Anton jots something down before slipping a paper to Hughbert.Another man who stayed behind with you all puts a hand on the shoulder of the man with the high pitched voice, distinctively scarred hands "It's going to be in the back of the shop, there's only one climbing gear shop" he says, slightly annoyed, then looks at his friend "Luyak, you sure you wanna leave your lady waiting? You promised we'd meet up with her before the meeting"The man, that you now know is named Luyak, slaps his forehead "Oi! I forgot. Uhn… Dangit, and I forgot to pick up the groceries she asked, uhn… Reyan can you go ahead while I go scrounge something?"
Hughbert: "My apologies if I held you up," he says to the man apparently named Luyak, "I hope to see you at the meeting." He slips the note into his journal and jots a quick response, completely stonefaced.The man with scarred fists, Reyan, sighs "You numbskull, okay get going" and Luyak apologizes and is offReyan looks at you "Okay, sorry about that, but I gotta get going too. See you at the meeting, then" he scoots offBy now, some two people have gotten up in the cable car who started to make it's way backAmal looked like they were dazing off into the distance for a second or two but then they snap out of it and stand up and stretch a little.
Serenity: "…We not gettin' off?"
Anton: "I figured you guys enjoyed the scenery so much you wanted to do another round trip."
JayM: You're going to wind up going back if you don't get off now
Harriet: "Oh shit right." Harriet hops off.Hughbert hops off, of course.Anton hops off, but he genuinely looks disappointed they weren't going around again.Serenity‘ shakes her head, following Hughbert off.Outside, is as described earlier. You see the car operator in the booth of the station looking as busy as ever. The streets are empty, as they are wont to be in this kind of place. Off in the distance you see a few people working on the orchards…Anton glances at Hughbert before nodding. "High voice, yeah."
Serenity: "…How long are we going to be here do you think?"Anton pats his backpack. "Don’t worry, my dear. I brought snacks for you too!"
Hughbert: "I don't suppose any of you have the talent for tailing someone discreetly, do you?"Serenity‘ hand wobbles in Hughbert’s direction.
Serenity: "No but we're going to the olive fields anyway."Anton shakes his head. "I can go fast, but my boots tend to make a lot of noise."Serenity‘ then starts walking down the street in their direction.
Hughbert: "Hm. If you happen to see Luyak, be vigilant and make a note of any suspicious behavior." He nods to Anton.Down that direction, it’s going to be a bit of a walk to get to the orchard Serenity's aiming at. The orchard itself is quite small but there's a sizeable warehouse by it.
Harriet: "Uhhh, I'm carrying, like, ten kilos of force gear, I am the exact opposite of stealth mode."
Serenity: "You got tools on you right… uh… what was your name, Harry something…? Harriet."Amal raises an eyebrow curiously, wondering what the others noticed that they didn't. It'll probably come up eventually if they're patient.
Harriet: "Harriet, yeah. I've got tools for killin' things and repairin' things, I was not prepared to climb a goddamn mountain."
Serenity: "Mostly of the repairing sort I am concerned with."There is a small house, which seems empty at the moment because the only person here, an old man taking care of the small orchard, is busy doing just that. Hair the color of his age, body of someone who worked their lives in the field. The warehouse seems to be attached to the property, with a door towards the orchard and one towards the main way in, but it's design and position make it seem like it was a late additionSerenity‘ glances around a few times at the come up to the fence of an orchard, then slips past it and heads for the storage house on the otherwise.
Harriet: "Right yeah. I got everything you need to get a thing to start working again on the field. It was Serenity, right?" Harriet remembers to mention after a moment.
JayM: ?
JayM: That a shadow moving across the vines trees?
JayM: Maybe someone else had the same genious idea as Serenity?
JayM: Nah, can’t be
Serenity: "Mmhm."
Serenity: "Anton go fetch."
JayM: Slipping past the fence and into the warehouse without the owner noticing isn't hard. Turns out the warehouse is a processing plant for olive oil, of course it also also has the olives themselves but they're being processed into a paste (it's pretty tasty, really)
Serenity: "Or watch me kick a machine a little bit, either or. I imagine you care more about the other person around here though."Serenity‘ sets her rifle down, turns the machine off, and starts looking it over.
JayM: The equipment is automated, force gear, it is very silent to a sign of it’s skilled construction. The almost inaudible whirring of the systems is almost melodic in a way. Except this one little dissonant beat coming from exactly the machine Serenity is working on. It's a machine that packages the paste for distribution
Anton: "And miss the chance to watch you work? You drive a hard bargain, miss." He shakes his head but seems to be doing a patrol regardless.
JayM: It's a little bit wobbly, like the main gear assembly that makes everything move in synch is a little bit out of alignmentHarriet crouches beside it and gives it a look over, too. "What's got you chugging, honey?"Hughbert nods to Anton, "I can question whoever it is," then turns to Serenity, "Is… something wrong with that machine?"
JayM: And the ragnite tubes also seem to have been slightly displaced caused it to function out of rhythm
JayM: Anton's going alone?
Serenity: "I do all kinds of work. Anyway I think this bit here is out of alignment." She gestures toward the specific part. "And the tubes aren't quite right either."Anton almost certainly is going alone since as soon as he gets to somewhere without a ceiling his direction is up. Birds eye view.
Harriet: "Right, yeah, I see what's going on. I can fix it, no worries."Hughbert nods, "I do not want to get in your way. Perhaps Harriet could help, but…" He excuses himself from the tresspassing and steps out to help keep an eye out for Anton.
Serenity: "Cool."Anton calls out to Hughbert. "That guy I mentioned earlier is booking it. He saw me go into the air."Amal watches Harriet and Serenity, from a safe distance.
Anton: "He was trying to sneak in."
JayM: Oh, of course it's misaligned in general something… Fell over here? Or… What is this cylindric object?
Hughbert: "Where is he going?"Anton proceeds to dash off in a specific direction. Guess it's that way.Harriet gets out her tools and gets to work. "Okay, I'm gonna start working on you. It's not gonna hurt, promise. - hey, what the hell is this?" She frowns and examines that object.
Serenity: "Ten bucks says it's an explosive."Serenity‘ reaches over to pick it up.Hughbert pokes his head in, "We saw Luyak, running away. We’re chasing him," before running after. He can't match Anton in speed, but perhaps if he follows behind, he'll see a good alley to corner him in a pincer formation!
Harriet: "It's a crypto lock," Harriet explains, "but I'm not really sure what it's locking out?? Last one I saw like this held scrolls, but why the fuck would a scroll be in there? Don't try to open that by the way, you'll just destroy what's in it. You can try to decypher it if you want, or I'll get to it once I'm done fixing this."
JayM: For what's worth the machine starts working okay once you put things back in place. Looks like the object was hidden away in the guts of the machineSerenity‘ scratches behind her head.Anton is spinning a lock of his hair staring off into the distance when Hughbert catches up with him.
Serenity: "Oh, one of those… things that releases acid if you try and open it up wrong?"
JayM: Anton flying and Hughbert running. You’re just in front of a way heading towards a house in a hill
Anton: "He holed up in this house on the hill right here." He gestures.
JayM: It's just one lonely house in a hill but the road leading there as well as the area around has the markings for future expansionHarriet gets to work. "Hey, there, does that feel better?" Harriet asks, giving it a pat after she puts everything back in place. "Looks like you're all good now. Oh," she looks back up at Serenity, as if she were an afterthought, "Yeah, probably something like that."
JayM: There's actually a sign indicating housing expansion planned for being finished in five years
Harriet: "Wait, where'd those other guys go?"
Anton: "I didn't pursue further since being inside a building solo is a huge disadvantage for me. Can't fly away, y'know?"Hughbert pushes his glasses up, pacing across the front of the house. "This building…"
Serenity: "Cool, found our spy withing going *any* of the way up the mountain." Serenity tosses the device to Harriet.
Serenity: "Tracking said spy down."
Harriet: "Oh right. Cool. Well, I'm gonna get to work disassembling this because that's totally not my area of expertise."Anton glances at Hughbert. "You know what it's being used for?"Serenity‘ turns to Amal. "Anyway. That’s all I got. Your turn probably."
Harriet: "Oh, you think you can decypher this?"
Hughbert: "Just a home, meant for at least three people. Due to the construction, there may be a maintenance hatch somewhere on the ground floor. That's the only disadvantageous escape route he could take, so securing that will be my priority."Anton nods before gesturing to the cottage. "On your lead then, partner." His smile is pretty big.Hughbert makes some gestures that probably indicate preparation, but are completely lost on Anton who has not been trained to recognize them. His force gear warms up from standby, and he crouches by the door, trying to open it discreetly…… but gives up halfway through and charges right in, looking for that damned maintenance entrance right away!Amal makes grabby hands for the locked scroll case.Anton didn't even crouch against the wall for what its worth. He's tuning his crossbow as he walks after Hughbert.Harriet tosses it over to him.Opening up the door slowly… The house is still mostly in construction, but there appears to be furniture for someone to live here. It's unlocked of course, it leads in the living room.You hear some noise from upstairsAmal peers at it for a second or two then mumbles something under their breath like they're repeating something, then punches in a code with no hesitation, while holding something down on the lower bit, then…It slides open, and inside is a quite tightly sealed bunch of papers. It's a bit of a pain to unseal to read if you want but it's not a big problemAnton stops in the center of the room for some reason. He seems to be fiddling with his crossbow some more.From the look of the workings of the crypto lock… It wouldn't melt the paper if you failed to open it correctly, it'd have ignited ragnite gel inside, that'd have been ugly and probably explosive
Serenity: "Oh hey I was right it WAS an explosive."Amal grins at Harriet and Serenity. "Bingo. Gosh, wasn't putting it in a trapped case enough for them…?" They extricate the sealed papers and hand them off to Serenity, then whistle at the interior of the ragnite lock and hands -that- to Harriet. "New toy! Ours now. Any idea who built it?"
Serenity: "And you got it in one."Serenity‘ glances over the documents.Hughbert keeps one eye on the stairs up, searching through the floor, under rugs, under furniture, for that escape route… "I’ll blast him outside and into your favored area if he shows his face."
Harriet: "Yoink!" Harriet pockets the lock.
Harriet: "Hey, you're pretty good at that… what was your name again?"Doesn't takes much searching to find the maitenance entrance in the bathroom areaAnton raises a hand to Hughbert before speaking up quietly. "I hear two people upstairs. Luyak is underground though."
Amal: "Amal al-Malak! I was gonna come bug you at your workshop about something but- you were busy and I didn't want to bother you!"The documents appear to be… Carefully drawn maps of the Divine Aegis. There's a pathway drawn in the maps but it's just sheer inclines, what crazyness is this? But there's markings in the pathway , one of the oldest looking documents has those marked as 'anchor points'
Serenity: "Oh."
Serenity: "Haha."
Hughbert: "…Accomplices? We had best apprehend them, but… Grabbing Luyak is vital. Should we split up?"
Serenity: "They set up a pully system I think."
JayM: Well, the oldest of the documents has a map starting from the very base of the Divine Aegis from the Akavir side. It has a symbol for… Neither of you can identify what it is, but it's marked with the name 'Crescendo'
JayM: The maps indicate various rest spots, in sheer surfacesAnton shakes his head. "If your hunch was right on the underground being an alternate escape route we should find the hatch as soon as possible. The others aren't going anywhere but Luyak seems to be running."Serenity‘ hands the papers over to Harriet, then picks up her rifle and sees about climbing up onto the roof of the store house.
JayM: And finally, when Serenity passes the papers to Harriet she can notice… This set of numbers and values… It’s a calculation sheet you're familiar with
Harriet: "Nah, nah, totally come by, it's not like anyone else does," Harriet says to Amal, glancing over the notes when she gets them. She squints at one of the lines and reads it again. "Huh. Ballistic trajectory. Cool."
Amal: "…huh? What the heck were they -planning-?"
JayM: In case it got lost in backscroll, the escape route Anton and Highbert are talking about can be found in the ground floor's bathroom
Serenity: "I mean… only one thing you need ballistic trajectories for."Hughbert nods and leads Anton to the opening in the bathroom, wasting no time going in first. "Let's focus on getting our man, then, and we can question the accomplices later. A solid plan."
Serenity: "Long range bombardment."
Amal: "Yeah but like… are we talking 'cannons mounted on the top of the Aegis' or- wow, that'd be nasty."
Serenity: "If I had to guess, probably rockets."
Harriet: "It's pretty high up on the Aegis. Like, record-breaking height here. If you wanted to get rid of these things… uh, shit."
Harriet: "Yeah, this thing would launch things right into the Bloodworks if it got fired."Anton lets Hughbert get a head start before half sliding down the ladder a few rungs at a time.
JayM: Down into the maitenance way… It's very well lit and absolutely not creepy because it's unsafe to work in creepy conditions
JayM: You hear the distant echo of tapping of feet ahead of youSerenity‘ tilts her head to the side.Hughbert makes room for Anton to do his thing whilst running after the target. "No need to hold up for me, of course."
Serenity: "The others just went underground."
Amal: "Think they’re gonna need some backup?"
Serenity: "Maybe…? I don't think my plan to sit on the roof and shoot whoever pops up is going to work anymore, though."
JayM: Anton going to make a dash?
Amal: "Figures that they'd have a bolt-hole."Anton nods to Hughbert. "I'll see if I can cut them off so you can come up behind." He revs up his shoes before dashing down the shaft.
JayM: … You are the Fatebreakers, your enemy is fate itself. And it's Pressure is [30]
JayM: Hughbert, [Investigation] check
JayM: Because something dangerous lurks, can you see it?Hughbert rolled 1d100 and got 36 ( Total: 36 )Serenity‘ glances towards the old farmer, leaning off the edge of the roof. "Hey! Where’s the closest hatch down into the sewer?"
JayM: The CoS of a skill roll is 40, +20 if you have a skil lthat applies, -30 because your foe has 30 Pressure
JayM: So CoS is 30, but you can bet 1 point of Luck to increase the CoS by 10, which I imagine I should have explained before I mad you roll
JayM: You keep the luck if you pass, lose if you fail. I'll let you wager luck if you want and re-roll , or you can keep this failure by 6
[OOC] Hughbert: yeah I'll bet 2 luck and rerollHughbert rolled 1d100 and got 56 ( Total: 56 ) for That was just a speck on my glasses the first time
JayM: Still failed by 6. You're down 2 LPAnton is dashing forward, and Hughbert notices it too late. Nearly invisible, a tripwire mine.
Amal: "Shit."
JayM: Anton you are super fast, though, so you have a Second Chance, a skill check that starts with 0 CoS for your Ars Aero. If you fail, the mine's tripped, if you pass you see the tripwire in time and dodge it
JayM: Right also +20 because applicable skill so base CoS is 20 nowAnton takes fate into his own hands. [7 Luck]Anton rolled 1d100 and got 92 ( Total: 92 ) for 90
[OOC] Anton: Hahahaha
Serenity: "Huh?"
Amal: "Shit!"Serenity‘ drops down from the roof. "With regards to…?"
Amal: "Hang on." [???]Anton feels a strange force strike against his back- His flight path is diverted downwards, he sees just this >< close to his noise the tripwire, he’d have run into it on his own if not for whatever happened. He skids near the floor and spins in the air as a shower of petals of many colors scatters around him-
JayM: But you dodged that bullet, somehow, and can keep chaseHarriet looks over at Amal with a scrunched up expression. "What?"
Serenity: "I 'uno."Anton's rapid dash is a little bit wobbly for a while bit he has the presence of spirit to keep going- He manages to catch up with Luyak, and tackles him to the ground. You roll, and he manages to kick you away but in the direction he was running towardsSerenity‘ turns around, cuping her hands around her mouth and shouting at the farmer. "Hey! Nearest sewer hatch! Important Church business!"Amal lets out a puff of breath and starts scared-laughing, adrenaline laughing. "T- things almost went south underground, I’m not sure what's going on, but everything's okay!"
Amal: "We- should probably help them if we can, did-" -and then they shut up so Serenity can yowl at farmers.Anton skids to a halt before adjusting his cloak. "So. Anything you want to confess? I'll listen for ten mira."
Harriet: "Okay like… I don't know how the hell you knew that from here but okay I guess." Harriet shrugs and lets Serenity handle screeching.The farmer looks up "W-what? Uhn… The maitenance one? There's only a way in down the street!"
Serenity: "Thanks! Also fixed your machine."
Hughbert: "…An unexpended windfall. I'll take it." Hughbert feels like he's missing something, but is glad that situation worked out- he unfortunately didn't see what Anton nearly tripped over until he was fumbling his way to victory.Serenity‘ stalks off down the street.Hughbert catches up in a moment, effectivelly trapping Luyak between the two of you
Luyak: "… Really? Pfft"
Luyak: "Yeah, I have a confession" he pulls out a hand cannon "I’m about to kill you"Harriet picks herself up and follows Serenity.
Anton: "Killing a man of the cloth? For shame sir. For shame."Amal follows Serenity at a brisk trot since we're not out of the woods yet!
Hughbert: "You're trapped. Drop the weapon. Try to make a shot and I'll blast you." He lowers his sleeve to show his very active force gear.Anton glances at his watch. "Ah. Hey Hughbert. Glad you could join us."Serenity‘ pops open the hatch, drops down. Take a second to two to look around, then starts walking in Anton’s direction.Serenity, Amal and Harriet have a bit of a path to take. And the maitenance way they use doesn't precisely connects to the one Anton and Hughbert are at, they need to go through a sealed door first but i'm sure with the two engineers there the mechanical lock (which is there just for safety in case of flooding) isn't a problem.
Serenity: "Holy shit what was city planning evening DOING down here?"By the they finally reach the standstill it's just in time to see a shot graze by Anton and and Luyak flying against the wall from a strike from Hughbert
Amal: "I have been wondering that myself. These aren't like, super-old seekrit tunnels from long before Masharas or something, are they? Gosh."Anton raises a hand to his cheek before stage whipsering to the criminal. "He's serious by the way."
Serenity: "…Actually now that you've said that."
Harriet: "It's always sewers," Harriet complains as she drops down, but she trots along anyway. The mechanical lock doesn't stand a chance, especially not with Harriet asking nicely.
Serenity: "I'm reminded our city is built on top of an older city."
Serenity: "Point taken."Hughbert raises an eyebrow at Anton- he doesn't think the added flair is necessary, but he can't bring himself to criticize him for pulling off Flash without leaving openings… The internal conflict is not evident on his face, but is plain in his aura, most certainly.
JayM: Amal of course they are not! Look at the sign in the door you had to open, it literally says the date the construction startedSerenity‘ then unslings her rifle, pushes a button and lets the ragnite starts flowing through its tubes.
JayM: There’s just a pressure door here because the sewer area after it is under construction and may flood in a heavy rain
JayM: Luyak looks around "Hrm…" he still has his gun in his hand, but now he's even more outnumbered
Amal: "Wow, maybe they -are-. We could find-" -and then whatever it was they were about to say they could find buried in the MYSTERIOUS DEPTHS of the ancient sewers, which absolutely aren't actually ancient at all, gosh, is lost in the surprise of walking into, apparently, an active Strife Zone! "!"He shrugs, crosses his arms, and waits
Anton: "I'm going to be honest with you buddy. Consider this a freebie tip. If you're going to do something do it soon because more are coming."
Anton: "Otherwise just do yourself a favor and put the gun on the ground."Hughbert follows through on his word- a jet of water blasts into Luyak's side, slamming him against the tunnel wall. No way he's getting out of that without a broken rib, at the least. He nods to the party- "We've cornered him. Any help persuading him to surrender would be welcome."Serenity‘ glances between Hughbert and the man.Luyak points the gun up "This? Okay" he moves two levers in the gun, presses the safety, tosses it ahead…
Serenity: "…Pretty sure you got this."Amal singsongs. "Too~ late~, we’re~ here~. And we found your super nifty 'Project Launch Rockets At Masharas From The Aegis' plans."
Serenity: "OH FUCK YOU!"
JayM: He's just throwing his gun away?Serenity‘ reaches forward with her hand, then slams her fist shut. There’s a bright flash of light as a mote appears where the gun is tossed, then a massive compressed of air as the weapon is sucked in with a *pop*. [Ars Prima]Harriet pulls her goggles down over her eyes. "Those were some pretty nice calculations."
JayM: Such a mysterious wave of force
JayM: The gun implodes on itself- There's a powerful sound like *thud* as two opposing forces fight
JayM: And a blast of wind emantes from the crumpled gun, powerful but does not bothers you
Amal: "…woah."
Harriet: "Nice trick."
Serenity: "…Anyway."
Hughbert: "Watch! … Out?" Hughbert was about to warn the party about the ammunition in the weapon, but…Luyak raises an eyebrow, and shrugs againAnton stretches before glancing at Hughbert. "Feel free to interrogate him, though." He then kneels down and opens his backpack and pulls out some Crunchy Rice Crackers. He begins to chew on them before glancing at the others. "..ant -ome?"
Luyak: "Nice trick I guess?"
Serenity: "…Yes."Serenity‘ holds out a hand towards Anton.Luyak just waits with his arms crossedAnton tosses her a cracker package.
Harriet: "Sure," Harriet holds out a hand too.Amal is staring at Serenity like O_O but manages to calm it down given the circumstances and focus on Luyak. "Someone should search him for the handy Akaviri knock-out drugs by the by." They hold out a hand for a rice cracker, hell yes.Anton is definitely taking this seriously. Crackers for everyone. Except hughbert probably.Harriet nibbles on a cracker and lets someone else handle searching the dude because: not her area.Serenity` shoves it in her mouth, then leans back against the wall looking a bit out of breath. She short of motions with her head to Hughbert, then their, uh, prisoner.
JayM: You’re leaving it to Hughbert aren't you? Yeah you are
JayM: It's going to be easy enough to remove what he has on his possession, at any rate, he doesn't stops you.
Hughbert: "Not taking any chances this time." Hughbert walks up to Luyak and brings the reinforced binding of T.F.L.A. 27th E down on his head hard, striking him to knock him unconscious, before securing his wrists behind his back in cuffs.
Hughbert: "I will not allow a repeat of our previous spies."
JayM: Ow
JayM: That's cruel, Hugbert
JayM: But he's out like a light
Serenity: "…Works for me."
Amal: "…that works too. Between the plans, the trap they were in, and this guy, we've probably got a lot of evidence pointing towards… something!"
Serenity: "Another attack."
Serenity: "The same attack delayed? Either way."
JayM: Heading back out?Hughbert checks him for any possesions he needs to be liberated from, keeping in mind the pills from last time, as he starts carrying this guy out of here. "I believe we've completed our task in this tunnel. Shall we?"Anton glances at Hughbert before speaking up with his mouth full. "-e's -inda -ven up tho-."
Serenity: "Swallow."
Serenity: "Then try again."Anton glances at Serenity before shoving another cracker into his mouth. He makes his way up the shaft.
JayM: Aside from his gun you see he was wearing the generator assembly of a force gear hidden under his clothes. Quick inspection nearby shows an akaviri powered shield (that uses ragnite plate repulsion to help eat impact) as well as a rifle hidden behind some stonework that has been tampered withAmal just snickers at Anton.Serenity‘ sighs.Heading up the shaft back… You come up to something you were not expecting. It’s like half the house has been covered in a thick ice sheet… Like a wall. A hole has been broken through the wall past which you can see a path of smaller and smaller ice wallsA girl's voice calls out "There you are boss… Sorry, they got away…"
Serenity: "The hell."There's a woman wearing a variant of the high guard you haven't seen before, wearing a force gear that is kind of huge for her size and almost like an armor, it includes an impact spike in the left arm and a large backpack… There's a crest "Search and Rescue" on her force gear's chest
Hughbert: "Mika? You found our target's accomplices, then. Did you get a good look at their faces?"
Amal: "-oh. Phew."She is resting against the wall, out of breath but not wounded "Kind of, there was a woman with dark hair and the man accompanying her I only got a good look on his fist right before it hit me, but it looked like he got in a fight with a blender and lost"Amal snickers.
Mika: "I tried to stop them but this is rescue gear, didn't have much luck. Apparently they were keeping an arts cannon here. Y'know, the big magical cannon force gear?"
Harriet: "An arts cannon, huh? Hmm."Anton swallows his cracker before beaming. "Have no fear, Anton's here~. The man in question was…" He makes a drum rolling sound with his tongue. "Reyan!" He pauses in silence for a moment. "… y'know. That guy from the cable car?"
Harriet: "Huh, that guy? I'd already forgotten his name to be honest. Good job - uh - Anthony, right?"Hughbert gives her an encouraging pat on the back- and with it, a Pulse to help that bruise. "Were, meaning, it is no longer here, I take it. Any info on where it is?"Anton slumps his shoulders at Harriet.
Mika: "With them, gal took it when they booked…" she points at the hole in her ice wall "How the got away"
Harriet: "Sorry, sorry, I'm shit at names."
Anton: "Oh, Harriet. How very cruel! And after our passions burned so strongly over these last two missions. Am I merely refuse, to be forgotten when circumstance affords me no immediate use?" He's smiling.
Mika: "Saw them just keep going further westwards, towards the mountains"
Serenity: "Yes."
Harriet: "Oh come on now you're just making fun of me. I know it was Ant- something."
Amal: "Someone fill me in. Is something like that big enough to launch a rocket all the way to Masharas?"Anton shoots a puppy dog look at Serenity.
Serenity: "Yes."
Serenity: To Amal, that time.
Serenity: "That's what the math was for."Hughbert shakes his head at Amal. "It's anti-personnel, not anti-installation."
Amal: "Hmm. If they could target it precisely enough that could still do some serious damage."
Amal: "I think our job isn't over yet?"
Hughbert: "Wait. Do you have reason to believe we should be looking for a rocket like that?"
Harriet: "Well, yeah. They've got a launching point up on the Aegis."
Harriet: "Aimed right for the Bloodworks."Serenity‘ gestures towards Harriet. "Found plans and math in a container rigged to explode."
Amal: "OH YEAH you guys were downstairs when we found those plans, sorry. They want to fire a rocket off the mountain and kill everybody."Anton scratches at his cheek. "Strange. Most third parties want to take Masharis for their own, not destroy it."
Serenity: "I mean."
Amal: "I think they probably just want to ruin the peace talks."
Serenity: "We’re dealing with professional idiots."Anton laughs. "Amal, my friend. Those peace talks were destined to fail with or without those rockets."
Amal: "Since 'the world is at peace and everyone is at least sort of happy and not at each others' throats constantly' doesn't really play well with the Prime Minister of Akavir's political goals."
Serenity: "Our resident priest, ladies and gentlemen."Anton strikes a pose for Serenity.Serenity‘ glances around a bit, turns to Hughbert’s assistant. "So about how big was this thing, and did it have an equally as large force gear attached to it?"Amal looks Determined at Anton. "Don't ever give up hope! That's what we're here for! If destiny doesn't want the peace talks to happen then destiny can go suck on a lollipop!" Beat. "…anyways, we should probably try to catch those guys before they try to climb the mountain…?"Mika looks at Serenity "Oh, no an arts cannon isn't too big it's about this big" about the size of a rocket launcher fired from the shoulder, those big square ones "It's a force gear in and of itself"
Serenity: "…Hmm… Well, hopefully it's cranky." She then scrunches up her face, concentrating.Anton smiles at Amal. "Oh, don't get me wrong. We're going to save Masharas. It's not going to be easy though."
Hughbert: "Mika," he addresses his 2nd Sergeant and hands him the limp sack of failed espionage he had slung around his shoulder, "you did well. Return to base and get some rest. Bring this prisoner back while you're at it. Be careful, the last ones we brought back were… Damaged in transit, so to speak, by their own hand." He salutes as he sends her off, "Goddess be with you."
Serenity: "Something just fired up in the west. Best bet."
Serenity: "Near the base of the mountain."Amal smiles at Anton, but there's something troubled in their eyes. It doesn't last long, though, since- "-well, that sounds like our cue. Can you lead us there?"
Hughbert: "No time to lose. Serenity, if you can track the source of the disruption, I'll follow your lead."
Serenity: "Yeah."Serenity‘ readjust the rifle on her shoulder, then starts moving in that direction.She nods at Hughbert, since her hands are too busy to salute "Yessir… Just gimme fifteen and i’ll be going"
Harriet: "Right, right. I guess we don't get to skip climbing the mountain after all…?" Harriet shakes her head and huffs and follows Serenity out.
Serenity: "I don't… think they're headed up yet. Though I suppose that's probably their goal. Ugh. Hope we catch up before they start moving."Serenity‘ starts moving a bit faster with the reminder that she may need to climb a mountain if not quick.
JayM: Man
Anton: "I have to admit, this is certainly better than a sewer adventure!"
JayM: So off you go, off to the westHughbert nods to Mika, and as the group heads off, he gives Anton a tap on the shoulder. "Excellent execution of that pincer attack, by the way. The plan did have that one hitch, but we succeeded." [Command, Anton restores 1 LP!]It’s quite a trek, it's rather tiresome… You wind up having to climb a little bit of a mountain, more like a steep incline that slowly turns into the mountain's cliffs but you find traces of the two heading inside a small caveAnton scratches his head before grinning. "Awww, geeze Hughbert you shouldn't have. I'll treasure it always."
[OOC] Anton: *always~
Serenity: "That better not connect to a network of cave tunnels…"
Hughbert: "As a positive, it does not. As a negative, well… You saw the size of the beam that melted that ice, correct?"You notice a thick copper wire heading from the cave as you come closer… It goes apparently down the incline and towards a tree?
Serenity: "I vote Anton goes in first."Amal abruptly giggles at something but manages to hold it back from behing a full-on giggle fit, peering at the tree.
Harriet: "Anton! That's his name!"Serenity‘ nods absently towards Harriet.You hear voices from the inside "Yessir, we’re at our limit. Can I consider the mission a failure?" it's a woman's voice
JayM: That's an antenna cleverly hidden in the treeAnton points at Harriet with both hands. "Congratulations!"
JayM: The response is… Far too jumbled to hear, and too low volume
Serenity: "So."
Woman: "Success? That's a relief, sir… Listen… I'm sorry for last night, alright? Hush, it's time. I'll see you in the other side"
JayM: And there's silence
Harriet: "We should probably go in there, right?"Serenity‘ points towards Anton, points towards the entrance.Anton smiles as he revs up his boots and does as flashy a somersault as he can muster. His goal is to land in front of the woman.Inside it’s Reyan and the woman, dark-skinned and whose long hair billows in the rage of her movement. She quickly brings to bear said arts cannon, a large cylindrical cannon with very apparently ragnite tubes- She uses it as a blunt instrument to bat Anton away but he's faster, able to land on the cannon itselfAnton glances down at her smiling. "Y'know, that's three people that have tried to shoot a priest today. Sure you guys don't have something to confess?"
Serenity: "Did you get blown up yet?"Serenity‘ shouts, into the cave.Hughbert nods at Harriet, following behind- he has spent far too much energy trying to keep up with Anton’s run and does not even try a little bit this time
Anton: "Are you serious? You missed that entrance? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?" He glances at Reyan. "Miiiiind if we redo that?"
JayM: Honestly, they're not going down without a fight but it's such an unfair fight. They're two, one of them is unarmed (and he's a [Musketeer] with access only to his grenade ability that has 1 shot) and the gal might be the leader but despite shooting a couple of AoE hits and an attack that explodes after 3 turns she also goes down fast
Harriet: "I dunno I think we'd hear an explosion." Harriet nods to Hughbert and follows him inside.
JayM: Harriet why jinx yourself?!
JayM: Now you get to hear the explosion because she fires an AoE shot when you go inside and you get to hear it from point blank
JayM: But
Serenity: "Okay,"
JayM: They're the kind who will fight to the death but inevitably lose
Serenity: "Now we're good."Serenity‘ heads in with her weapon out after the explosion.
JayM: How’re you doing this? I mean you overwhelm them enough you can definitely take them in custody if you want, but they're only coming in at minimum heavily wounded
JayM: And definitely not consciousThey don't need to be conscious as long as they're alive and we didn't commit any war crimes! :DSerenity‘ is perfectly okay with that, to be honest. They made her run through a sewer *and hike* on the same day.
JayM: Either way, of interest you find inside: A radio, with a very large battery attached to it. The radio itself is also quite large, very high output
Serenity: "So, out of curiosity."Serenity` kicks one of the unconscious mercenaries with her boot lightly after they drop.
Serenity: "What are your super powers anyway?" Head tilted back towards Hughbert and Harriet.
Harriet: "I’m ridiculously smart. Got into university at fourteen."Anton pats his chest. "Oooh, pick me, pick me. I can fly!"Serenity‘ pointedly ignores Anton.
Serenity: "Does that really count…? Well, maybe it does if you can design a cool enough cannon."Hughbert finishes rifling through their belongings that he just doused with a couple pressurized gallons- then stonefaces. "Apparently I have the power to turn every pair of clothes I own into this one suit." His eyes are making daggers at Anton with that one.
Amal: "It totally counts."
Harriet: "Um," Harriet hefts up her ragnite railgun, "hello???"
Harriet: "Duh I can make a cool enough cannon."Serenity` nods at Harriet, something almost like a smile on her face, before turning to Hughbert.
Serenity: "Doesn’t sound like a useful super power, to be honest."Amal also, wanders over to Anton and gives him a thumbs-up. "You did great on this operation, by the way! I'm glad you made it out of that pinch underground." Oops, how did Amal even know about that? [+1 LP from Care, on experiencing a victory.]
Serenity: "How are identical suits going to help divert fate?"
Harriet: "His powers are being a… shit what was your rank again? Oh, you know what I mean."
Anton: "Aww c'mon Hughbert, you could at least wear more distinct colors."
Serenity: "That's not a super power."
Harriet: "I mean it might be a super power."
Serenity: "…It's not."
Hughbert: "The oracle works in mysterious ways, dear Serenity. To be honest, I have no idea what super powers you're talking about. Is this a childish angle you're playing, or are you serious?"
Amal: "Anton's just angling to give all the Fatebreakers fashion advice."
Serenity: "Uh."
Harriet: "Oh, sweet. What do you think I should wear, Anton? I have no fucking clue how fashion works."
Serenity: "Between myself, Our Lord And Savior Sir Dork, and shortstack?"
Serenity: "Dead serious."Anton pipes in again. "I can fly!"
Hughbert: "…What's yours, then?"
Serenity: "Can talk to the Goddess."Serenity‘ completely serious face, level tone.
Harriet: "Okay, but does she talk back?"Amal raises both eyebrows, but not really in… disbelief, or anything. Just sort of ’interesting' / 'that explains a lot'.
Serenity: "Yes."Hughbert stares, matching the seriousness, expecting her to crack any second and bust out laughing.
Serenity: "Well for varying definitions of " she " but yeah." She rolls a shrug.
Harriet: "Huh. Cool. So does that mean ragnite talks to you too? Man, I really wish my inventions would talk back to me."
Amal: "…sort of, yeah. I don't really know how to explain it, but I can… nudge things, I guess, in one direction or the other."
Serenity: "I mean it… actually does."
Harriet: "So what's it say?"
Amal: "S- sometimes, when we're fighting… you would have missed, but you didn't. Or- like- when I opened the trapped cylinder, I just knew how to open it."
Serenity: "Depends a lot on where I am. Mostly it just mumbles basic stuff related to what it's doing. Like. Under the center of the city? The water pump's just this constant stream of 'push'."Anton makes his way over to Amal before grabbing his hands. His eyes are practically beaming. "No way! So cool!"
Harriet: "Huuh." Harriet scratches at the back of her head. "And Amal your shit sounds crazy as hell too to be honest. I mean, I'm a woman of science, I've gotta wonder why these things happen… but then again, my mother was Terchuan, so I guess I can accept that sometimes things are just weird."
Hughbert: "Hm. Well, apologies if I didn't take your question seriously the first time. I don't have any extraordinary powers, sorry to say. The only serious answer I can give you is actually my uniform, I suppose."
Serenity: "Weird."
Harriet: "See I told you it counted."
Hughbert: "I'm weird, you say."
Serenity: "You're the oddest one out."
Serenity: "Unless you're saying you fit in better with us than Harriet…?"Amal grins and handshakes with Anton adorably, and meets his gaze directly, and suddenly that grin cracks wider, their eyes get a little wider, shimmer faintly.
Harriet: "Nah, he's normal. Y'all are outliers and should never have been counted."
Harriet: "I mean I guess I'm weird too but I'm normal weird."Anton pats Amal on the shoulder before giving him a thumbs up.Hughbert lets out a heavy sigh and shrugs. "If I have one, it isn't running, talking to deities, excellent study habits, or flight, at the least."
Serenity: "His isn't flight, it's something else."
Serenity: "Just… for the record."
Serenity: "Which…"
Amal: "A- anyways, things are- definitely just weird, sometimes, I guess! There's got to be a reason we were all picked for the Fatebreakers, after all."
Hughbert: "Are you sure? He's spared no effort to inform us-" He gives up, for the time being. "…his power can be whatever he wants it to be. Sure."Anton glances at Serenity before raising a hand to a hushed whisper again. "Well, if you insist we aren't supposed to reveal candidates but… I'm definitely going to be the next divine oracle. Just you wait!"
Serenity: "Anton he's not lying when he says he doesn't know what he is, is he?" She tilts her head in Amal's direction.Serenity‘ gives anton a ’yes, obviously' sort of look.Amal just grins at Anton's remark.
JayM: WellSerenity‘ snaps her fingers in front of Anton’s face. "Hello?"
Anton: "Oh. Hello, Serenity!"
Serenity: "Is. He." Points at Amal. "Lying. About not knowing what he is?"
Anton: "I was just remembering how I did my grand entrance. It's important to review it because some people stayed back and didn't watch me." He crosses his arms.
Serenity: "Yes yes it was very lovely and you'd be loved at the circus."
Amal: "I thought it was pretty impressive from the mouth of the cave for what it's worth~!"Serenity‘ makes a ’get on with it' gesture.
Anton: "Thank you!" [+1 LP to me for a compliment]Harriet pushes her goggles back up onto her head. "Yeah with how much you're avoiding that question you'd make a great Divine Oracle."
Anton: "I can tell you that Amal genuinely wants to save Masharas."
Serenity: "That isn't what I asked!"
Anton: "I don't have an answer to your question, I'm afraid."
Serenity: "You and Cor both." Ugh!Harriet shrugs. "I dunno, it's good enough for me."
Anton: "Or rather I have multiple conflicting answers."Amal looks apologetic.
Hughbert: "Is that a superpower? I might actually have one if that is indeed a superpower."
Anton: "It's complicated!"
Serenity: "He's an Oracle."
Serenity: "I can communicate with Ragnite."
Serenity: "I'm pretty sure Amal isn't people."
Harriet: "We all care about Masharas, right? I know I wouldn't be out here if I didn't give a shit about my country."
Serenity: "For what it's worth."Harriet walks up to Amal, peers up at their face.
Harriet: "Y'know, we could do some tests."
Anton: "I may seem uncommon to you, Serenity but there's more than just me and Cor at the church y'know."
Harriet: "I mean, I normally work with weapons, buuut…"Amal looks back, all bright-eyed and innocent. "She already got some of my blood last time! You could probably use that~."
Anton: "If anything you're the outliers there." He smiles.
Serenity: "And there's more people that can communicate with ragnite than just me, too, but it's still a pretty uncommon trait."
Serenity: "I suppose while we're talking about how weird we all are,"Harriet reaches out to pinch Amal. Just. Pinch him.
Serenity: "I can perform magic without a force gear, but it's difficult."Amal yelps!
Serenity: "Amal does not even have a force gear."
Harriet: "Yeah you totally feel like people. And what the fuck? Way to make me obsolete, you two!"
Serenity: "Also he's right, I do have his blood, and it doesn't properly bond with ragnite like literally any other human's."
Hughbert: "…Maybe they're just hiding it really well? Like, REALLY well."
Anton: "Oh. If we're adding to the list I sometimes get visions of the future that are nearly impossible to interpret so I don't bother trying and Cor lectures me about it!" He smiles proudly.
[OOC] Harriet: pinch them rather i am good at pronouns
Serenity: "No, he definitely doesn't have one."Amal then yelps again! And waves their staff around! Which… is pretty obviously broken and they didn't bother Harriet to pretend to get it pretend fixed after the fight, but that coeurl's out of the bag, I guess.
Amal: "Okay I guess I don't have to rely on one of you to keep a secret about -that- for the next Goddess knows how long."
Harriet: "Hey, let me have a look at that." Harriet grabs their staff, examines it. Would it even work properly as a force gear?It… basically… would make das blinkenlightzen to -look- like a functional force gear while they're using magic. It's kinda clever, actually!
Harriet: "Okay this isn't even a real force gear. Please tell me you weren't going to try and pass this off as a real force gear it's obvious now I'm looking at it."
Amal: "Duh not to -you-. I was going to come clean with you and ask you to fix it for me and if you had any ideas for improvements."Amal smiles brightly.
Harriet: "Well, like, for starters you could have gotten a real force gear, the easiest way to fool anyone is with the truth. You could've made improvements to have it faux-activate. It's really simple actually."Anton glances at his watch. "I'm not even sure the cable cars run after sundown so unless all of you are pining to get a flight trip in the arms of yours truly~ I'd suggest we head back now!"Harriet was already reaching for her notepad when Anton said that. "- oh right. Uh. Sure, let's do that, we should take these morons back too. I'll get to your staff later man."
JayM: The last cable car runs at right about sundown when work in the farms stopSerenity‘ turns back towards Hughbert, and has a smile on her face and she clasp’s a hand over his shoulder.Amal side-eyes at Anton and almost audibly thinks 'now that you mention it' and maybe 'i can think of worse things' but yes, time to head back, plus two knocked-out agents.
Serenity: "You're gunna have even more fun than I am, here."
JayM: So you are going back after allAmal also rummages around in their pocket for a folded-up note once everyone's distracted by heading back and reads it.
Harriet: "I call not it carrying these losers by the way."The cable car heading back is nearly empty… You wind up getting the second-to-last car and, with a little bit of talk from Hughbert you manage to have the operator ensure the car is just for you since you're carrying two prisioners. Not a big deal since nobody was going to use it anyway.Amal smiles and puts the note back in a pocket, volunteers to carry… the radio! It's important evidence.The trip is long and you can see the early sunset of Masharas start to come. Here in this city, surrounded by tall mountains, the sun sets early as it hides behind the mountains.
JayM: Well, no, not that long, the cable car's pretty fastHughbert carries one of the captives with- and does that, ready to get back and relax. "If nothing else, I expect to learn a lot. It will just… Take some… getting used to. That is all."
JayM: It's a trip back
JayM: But I promise you
JayM: The night is young
[OOC] JayM: +10 XP